Background Checks
by Baileys
Summary: Gibbs claims to know everything about his agents, this is why. One-shot. Character study. Tony & Gibbs Father/Son theme.


Dis: I don't own NCIS etc…

Gibbs had read the file on detective DiNozzo the minute Pacci handed it to him. Gibbs experiences with local LEO's tended to vary, but this young detective had impressed him, which was very hard to do. The meagre contents of the file had been enough for Gibbs to keep an eye on one Anthony D. DiNozzo Jr. even after his own case was closed. That and he had a hunch that something not entirely unrelated was going to go down. When DiNozzo had left the Baltimore precinct that night, looking like he wanted to either cry or kill something, Gibbs knew his gut had been right once again.

A few weeks later, after DiNozzo had officially applied to be an NCIS agent, Gibbs started his own brand of background check. If he was going to shape DiNozzo into the Agent he knew he could be then Gibbs needed to know everything about him and the agency background check was nowhere near good enough.

No one, aside from Ducky and Abby were aware of his extra deep background checks and Gibbs liked to keep it that way. Ducky only knew because he had found out the same way he always did. There wasn't much the ME wasn't aware of that happened around NCIS. He usually tried to keep Abby out of it, but sometimes there was the odd exception where he needed her computer expertise to get a little more information, it just so happened that Tony DiNozzo would end up being one of those exceptions.

When Gibbs first researched Anthony DiNozzo Jr. he discovered a little more information than he'd bargained for. From Pacci's file he knew about the two previous forces before Baltimore and his scores at the academy and college. The file also referenced, albeit as a footnote, his enrolment at Military school at the age of eleven. This was the first thing to surprise Gibbs. DiNozzo did not act like someone who had been to military school. Intrigued he tracked school down and found out that DiNozzo was one of the non-military prep students, which made far more sense. Including why DiNozzo was one of very few people who didn't run crying when he barked orders, he was clearly very used to being yelled at by loud mouth DI's.

The school was very high end, all boys and catholic, presidents and congressman amongst the alumni. Unfortunately it just posed more questions and answered none. The school closed down in 2001, which made Gibbs' task a lot easier, with no ethos to protect a few well-placed phone calls got him the information he was really after. A friend of a friend who owed a favour got him DiNozzo's confidential school file. It contained several things, including incident reports, a high number of them, some with DiNozzo as the trouble maker, some the victim. In and of themselves there seemed nothing unusual. However it was upon reading the accompanying notes that Gibbs surprised himself this time, by reacting like a father instead of an agent. Teachers logging the inability to contact Mr DiNozzo, or when contact was made the lack of interest shown in his son's situation. The one that had Gibbs leaving for more coffee just to get air and walk off his frustration was the report of DiNozzo Jr. being seriously hurt in a fight during his second year. According to the school nurse his father told the school not to call again unless it was important. And it appeared they did just that. There was a highlighted line in his admission file stating that any and all correspondence regarding Anthony DiNozzo Jr. was to be forwarded to a lawyer in England, whom it also seemed, was responsible for paying his tuition. From everything he read Gibbs deduced that if Tony had been in a regular school any decent teacher would have called child services within the first six months. It made Gibbs' blood boil to think that because they were being paid a huge amount of money it meant the school looked the other way as a child was emotionally neglected by his own father.

Despite the disturbing truths he discovered which began to answer some of the questions Gibbs had had about his newest agent, he didn't stop there. It wasn't until reading a psychologist's report which contained details about an incident in Maui that Gibbs really wanted to kill someone. Namely DiNozzo Sr. Gibbs initially laughed at the accompanying police report, not because it was funny, but because it was so clearly DiNozzo. He'd only known the kid a few weeks by this point, but it felt like Tony had been with him always. So it wasn't hard to imagine that by the age of twelve Tony had learnt not to freak out at being forgotten by his father and left behind in a hotel room. Instead he throws a party that, ironically, produces a room service bill so huge the hotel contacts his father and incidentally reminds him he's left his kid behind. It said a lot about their supposed father/son relationship. The psych report said even more. Thankful Tony had had his NCIS psych test already and passed with flying colours Gibbs took all the information he'd gathered and locked it in his desk in his basement. No one else needed to see a seventeen year old psych report.

Gibbs then moved onto a different area of Tony's life. Finding information on Tony's mother wasn't hard. DiNozzo had listed his Mom as deceased on his application form so Gibbs looked up the death certificate. Her cause of death was classed as accidental. Further research, with a little help from Ducky, revealed it was an unfortunate mistake mixing pills and alcohol, motives unknown, leading to a coma she never woke from. Gibbs took a swig of bourbon as he looked over the details again. Tony was the same age as Kelly when she'd died Gibbs noted and he tried to imagine how he'd feel if Kelly had lived and they'd lost Shannon. He could never imagine abandoning his daughter the way Mr DiNozzo had apparently abandoned his son. Refilling his glass the death certifcate joined the school records and the psych report in his basement desk.

Gibbs then tried to dig deeper into the period between Mrs DiNozzo's death and Tony's enrolment in Military school. That was when he hit a brick wall and was forced to involve Abby. What she came up with did not paint a pretty picture and had Abby, who had not immediately appreciated DiNozzo's frat boy persona, softening up to him upon realising the cocky act was just that. An act. Most probably designed to keep people at arm's length, as Ducky had added when Gibbs hadn't ask.

Armed with all this information this was why he looked past certain childish behaviour when others only got irritated. It was why Gibbs was tougher on Tony than he had ever been on any other agent, why he felt comfortable disciplining him when the boy really needed direction. Gibbs had identified the role he'd be playing in Tony's life and realised he'd have to be fully committed to it if he wanted Tony to stay with him for more than a couple of years. He didn't need Ducky pointing out that he needed to tread carefully, though he was grateful that his friend could see the damage done there too and drew comfort from knowing that he could seek advice without breaking any confidence.

That held true, until eleven months into his employment at NCIS Tony had ended up in the hospital ICU, half beaten to death by a bunch of marines for protecting a fellow agent. Gibbs had called Mr DiNozzo, merely as a courtesy, already prepared for the kind of reaction he'd receive. A small part of him had hoped that maybe the man had mellowed with age and distance, that when it came down to it the man really did love his son. After several attempts to contact him and messages left Gibbs, with Abby's assistance, tracked DiNozzo Sr. down. He was in Thailand marrying Tony's latest step-mom. The fact that DiNozzo hadn't mentioned it Gibbs deduced Tony knew nothing of this latest union. Gibbs eventually spoke with a hotel receptionist, she told him Mr DiNozzo sent his best and asked if Gibbs could leave a message on his service should anything 'unfortunate' happen. Only he had some business to attend to in Monaco and wouldn't be state side for a least a few weeks. Gibbs had remained silent, gripping the phone handset so tight his fingertips went white from the pressure. This was one fight Gibbs wasn't taking on. He hung up on the woman without reply and vowed to never bother the man ever again. If Tony wanted to talk to the man who had no right to consider himself a father he could call himself and if he didn't, that was fine too. It was this phone call that led to Gibbs storming into Tony's ICU cubical and angrily spilling Tony's unshared childhood secrets to his long-time friend Ducky. Something Gibbs had never done before or since.

When DiNozzo had been released from hospital and asked if Gibbs had contacted his father Gibbs refused to lie. He told Tony about the message his father had left with the Thailand receptionist. What hurt Gibbs more than having to tell the kid his father didn't give a shit about him was seeing the accepting look on Tony's face as he told him, like he'd expected nothing less.

That happened last Thursday, it was now late the following Tuesday and Gibbs was sat at his desk in the empty bullpen, DiNozzo's Probie paperwork laid out in front of him. Thinking back he realised so much had happened in their first year together it felt like a lifetime. Now they'd reached stage for Gibbs to officially sign off on Tony's probationary period at NCIS he took pause. Thinking about all he had learned about his Probie, the fears and insecurities shared, and some not shared. Even though he had not met DiNozzo until he was a man of nearly thirty, Gibbs still wanted to make it ok for him. He found he wanted to be the person Tony could rely on. More than being a partner or boss, he actually wanted to be the parent the boy had never had and make up for all the lost time Tony had been alone with no one to depend on. If Ducky could hear his thoughts Gibbs knew he'd think he'd lost his mind. The Jethro Gibbs NCIS knew was a marine, second b for bastard, people here feared him. Yet underneath that hard core exterior was the heart of a father who hated anyone who threw away the gift of a child and DiNozzo Sr. had done just that. He'd neglected and generally mistreated his son to the point the boy had no real confidence in himself and was constantly seeking approval from others. That was why, when he lifted his pen and signed off on Tony's file making him an official NCIS Special Agent, Gibbs crossed out Anthony DiNozzo Sr. under next of kin notification and put in his own name. He then signed it and filed it himself, leaving a copy for DiNozzo on his desk before leaving for the night.

The next day Gibbs walked into the bullpen early and the copy was gone. On his own desk he found a freshly brewed coffee with a sticky note attached, and written on it in his agents god awful handwriting was one word, 'Thanks'.

Gibbs smiled proudly and drank his coffee.

A/N: I'm back! And thanks for reading until the end. This little character study is actually taken from a comment made by Ducky in my multi-chapter fic Impetus which I'm currently in the stage of editing the next few chapters. It's helped me get back in the swing of writing again after my hols – hoped you enjoyed;)


End file.
